How do I care for a fantail goldfish in a 1 gallon bowl?

Question

I already bought my 7 yr old the bowl and fish for her b-day (prior to researching and reading that bowls are "fish prisons" as one person stated). I cannot afford, nor do i have room for a tank, the bowl is on a very small childs desk (not big enough to hold a tank and I have no where else to put it). The fish we purchased died in less than 24 hrs but I cleaned the bowl w/ only hot water and a brand new sponge, treated the water becase our town has a high chlorine content and floated the bag so it would be used to the water temp. We fed it floating flakes (just a tiny pinch) and a few hours it was on its side eating bubbles at the surface and having trouble swimming upright. I read that that can be "swimbladder" but I only had it a few hours before it stared acting funny and it seemed fine when I brought it home. Please help me, my daughter wants to try again but I don't know what we did wrong the first time!

Answer 1

Chances are you did nothing wrong. It's just hard for goldfish to live in bowls, and pet shops should be banned by leading people to believe that they can. Unfortunately, a goldfish is not going to be a good choice for your situation. A rule of thumb is that goldfish should have 10 gallons of water PER goldfish. A better bet, given the amount of room you have (or lack thereof), would be to get her a Betta fish. They are the fish in the pet shops that are alone in cups. This is because they are chinese fighting fish, and cannot get along with others of it's species. They use these cups because they cannot be in the same tank with others, and given their fast turn around rate, they usually find their way in to small homes quickly. These fish have an organ called a labrynth, which makes them able to breathe air and water. They are suitable for a "bowl", and although many will have different opinions on the situation, it can be done. The trick is to make sure you use a dechlorinator in the water, and keep the water at about room temperature (the do better in a warm envirnonment but can live happily in room temp. water). You have to be religious in not over-feeding it, and also doing water changes about every 4 days. (Others will disagree because everyone has their opinion of right and wrong, but this has worked for me and other's i've suggested it to). There is no right or wrong on this, only people's opinions and their choices of how they handle a given situation. My daughter's betta lives in a 2.5 gallon tank and it is fine. I have 2 bettas in 2 separate 5 gallon tanks and one that lives in my community tank peacefully with platys, mollies and tetras. People will tell you NO WAY, do not put bettas in a tank with other fish, they will kill them. These are people who have no clue, because bettas can in fact live peacefully in with other fish, so long as no other bettas are there.
What I'm trying to say is you are going to get varying opinions on your question, and there is no right or wrong. From experience, I am telling you that a betta would be fine for this type of tank, so long as you are diligent with taking care of it and doing regular water changes. But bettas are beautiful, so your child may like it just as much. I will say again that if you buy another goldfish, it will also die, as they cannot be raised in a fish bowl for any length of time.
If I can help you out in any other way, please feel free to e-mail me through this site. Good luck!!! ;o)

Answer 2

Fantail Goldfish Care

Answer 3

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
How do I care for a fantail goldfish in a 1 gallon bowl?
I already bought my 7 yr old the bowl and fish for her b-day (prior to researching and reading that bowls are "fish prisons" as one person stated). I cannot afford, nor do i have room for a tank, the bowl is on a very small childs desk (not big enough to hold a tank and I have no where...

Answer 4

It was probably dying from lack of oxygen, that's why it went on it's side. I would suggest not buying anymore goldfish, or really any fish for that size bowl. Some may suggest a betta, I personally think they should have a minimum of 5 gallons, but I wouldn't go with a betta either because the water(especially in winter) will be too cold for the fish. Unless you keep your house set at 78 F in the winter time.

Look around online or even garage sales for at least a 5 gallon tank. I actually saw a small set up at our local Goodwill store, brand new still in the package, just was too small for anything in my opinion. But a 5 gallon tank will fit in the same space as the one you have now most likely. But a 5 gallon is still too small for a goldfish, but you could get a betta for that. A goldfish should have a minimum of a 15 gallon filtered tank. Good luck!

Answer 5

Whoever sold you that small a bowl, with no air pump, just wanted your $$.

So....the best alternative is a Betta fish, which requires neither an air pump or a large swimming area.

You can expect to clean your bowl 2-3 times a week.
There is food made specifically for these fish- use it, and not what you are currently using.
Do not overfeed- it'll pollute the water.

Use dechlor drops as directed (usually a couple drops- no more) and make sure the water the fish was in is pretty much the same temp. as the clean water.

You're just going to keep killing goldfish- the only thing you did right was the water temp.

I would take the dead fish, the sick fish, and the food right back to the fool that sold them to you.

The water of your Betta should be on the cool side of lukewarm.

Your betta would appreciate a small plastic bushy grass, to rest in.

Hope this helps.

Answer 6

You cannot care for a goldfish in a 1 gallon bowl. Its not a proper home at all. Goldfish are supposed to live at least 10 years and get 10 inches or more. Keeping them in a bowl is cruel, the pet store knows this and sold it to you anyway. Goldfish need lots of space, minimum of 10 gallons per fish. They need a filter and airator.
You could of in the very least looked up goldfish on Wickapedia. You did no research on your own and the fish will pay the ultimate price.
You will have to change all of the water out twice a day at least to keep the fish alive but not healthy.
If you don't have space or time to care for a pet simply don't get them. You wouldn't keep a pony in the house just cause it was what your kid wanted for their birthday, Just because its a humble goldfish does not give you the right to do the same thing, The fish is obviuously already suffering from your ignorance. Although it sounds like you are not ignorant of the fact you can't keep a fish this way, you just did it any way. Shame on you. What a good lesson to teach your kids.

Answer 7

I personally agree with MrsCrabs answer. This is all a "personal opinion" on what is good, bad, etc. for the fish. Just because one person wouldn't keep it in a 1 gallon bowl, doesn't mean another person wouldn't. A goldfish can't be, but you will get a split down the middle argument on what is proper for a Betta to be housed in. My personal opinion is anything bigger then the cup they come in is better then what they had. These fish are relatively inactive and slow moving, so I wouldn't worry about it as much as other fish. But that's my opinion. Will the fish live if properly taken care of? The answer is yes, it will, even in a 1 gallon fish bowl. It's life span may be shortened, but it can most certainly be kept alive, and it's one more betta out of a plastic cup in a fish store. So hooray. Do what it is you feel you want to do, forget about everyone else.

Answer 8

Ok first of all u may want to try a hardier fish, a beta or moille for example. Or a different tank. They have octagons tanks that are a little more then a gallon but take up less space and comes with a bubble stone to keep the water aerated. There a lot better then a sphere fish bowl b/c it has a more surface area on the top(very important allows more places for oxygen to mix with water)
Gold fish can be very hard to manage in a small tank because they put so much waste in the water. its good that your treating the water but also try also having a few gallons of water treated a head of time. So the week that you have to change the water you already have a gallon that has been sitting out for a week. Some store have little tables (bout the size of a small aspirin) for one gallon tanks to help with pretreatments as well. Do not confuse for those 10 gallon tables which are much bigger
Last
It very important to DO NOT over feed your fish. a small pinch will do. With less swimming room they don’t use as much energy as we do. Thou some fish more than others you fish will always beg for food even when there not hungry. Some will eat there way death. Plus there more active when there a bit hungry.
Good Luck

Answer 9

The reason it died was probably because it was in such a small bowl,goldfish produce alot of waste and need a filter as they breath through their gills.You should not get another goldfish,if you want to keep something in the bowl the only fish that will survive there is a betta.They would do better in a small tank of 2.5 gallon with a small filter and heater but it is possible to keep them in a bowl if you are willing to spend a bit of time looking after them.You should change the water twice a week and keep the bowl in the warmest spot in your house where there are not any drafts or sudden temperature changes.

Answer 10

You cannot keep a goldfish in that bowl. It will die, then you will get another and it will die. Goldfish make massive amounts of waste - they need at least 15gallons with a good filter. You will just keep killing goldfish.

Get yourself a betta and keep it in the bowl. Change 50% of the water once a week.

Go to www.aquariacentral.com for more information on fish keeping.

Good luck.